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| What do British cheese producers want? A soft Brie-xit | What do British cheese producers want? A soft Brie-xit |
| (30 days later) | |
| Fri 22 Dec 2017 13.00 GMT | Fri 22 Dec 2017 13.00 GMT |
| Last modified on Wed 14 Feb 2018 15.28 GMT | |
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| I’m delighted that the secretary of state for the environment can produce the names of some of our leading farmhouse cheddar producers, but the argument that British people must simply draw upon their patriotic reserves and eat more British cheese sounds more like the philosophy of North Korean self-reliance than the one of radical free trade and exciting new opportunities that Brexit was supposed to bring. | I’m delighted that the secretary of state for the environment can produce the names of some of our leading farmhouse cheddar producers, but the argument that British people must simply draw upon their patriotic reserves and eat more British cheese sounds more like the philosophy of North Korean self-reliance than the one of radical free trade and exciting new opportunities that Brexit was supposed to bring. |
| Cheese is a food that is designed to be traded over distance, and continental Europe is the most sophisticated and discerning market for farmhouse cheeses in the world. In the UK, fresh liquid milk is omnipresent on cereal and in tea and coffee. The average French citizen consumes only half as much liquid milk, but eats over twice as much cheese, as her British counterpart. | Cheese is a food that is designed to be traded over distance, and continental Europe is the most sophisticated and discerning market for farmhouse cheeses in the world. In the UK, fresh liquid milk is omnipresent on cereal and in tea and coffee. The average French citizen consumes only half as much liquid milk, but eats over twice as much cheese, as her British counterpart. |
| Cheese is a vital part of European gastronomic culture, and more Europeans are willing to pay for high-quality cheese | Cheese is a vital part of European gastronomic culture, and more Europeans are willing to pay for high-quality cheese |
| Not only is cheese a more fundamental part of the diet, it is an essential part of European gastronomic culture, and more Europeans recognise and are willing to pay for high-quality cheese. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a disproportionate amount of the very best quality British cheese is exported to the EU; almost 40% by volume of the British blue cheese sold by Neal’s Yard Dairy this year was consumed by customers in Europe. | Not only is cheese a more fundamental part of the diet, it is an essential part of European gastronomic culture, and more Europeans recognise and are willing to pay for high-quality cheese. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a disproportionate amount of the very best quality British cheese is exported to the EU; almost 40% by volume of the British blue cheese sold by Neal’s Yard Dairy this year was consumed by customers in Europe. |
| Unfortunately, despite the name-checking, most British consumers are not in a position to be trading out their Irish factory block cheese for Montgomery’s cheddar or Lincolnshire Poacher at five times the price. A high import tariff on benchmarks such as Comté and Parmigiano-Reggiano is not going to kickstart a windfall of great British equivalents, either. The milk we produce here in the wet, maritime climate of the UK is not suited to making cheeses that evolved to exploit the pastures of the Jura or the hills of Emilia-Romagna. | Unfortunately, despite the name-checking, most British consumers are not in a position to be trading out their Irish factory block cheese for Montgomery’s cheddar or Lincolnshire Poacher at five times the price. A high import tariff on benchmarks such as Comté and Parmigiano-Reggiano is not going to kickstart a windfall of great British equivalents, either. The milk we produce here in the wet, maritime climate of the UK is not suited to making cheeses that evolved to exploit the pastures of the Jura or the hills of Emilia-Romagna. |
| Contorting ourselves to produce second-class British knockoffs against all odds would hardly be making the most of our natural competitive advantages. | Contorting ourselves to produce second-class British knockoffs against all odds would hardly be making the most of our natural competitive advantages. |
| Regulations reflect values, and harmonisation with EU laws means that we work within a system adopted by a society that values raw-milk cheeses. EU regulations on raw-milk cheeses are science-driven, striking a balance between protecting public health and the food production practices that give the very best flavour. Far from obstructing progress and innovation, sensible EU regulations have paved the way for the British raw-milk cheese industry to grow and thrive in recent decades. | Regulations reflect values, and harmonisation with EU laws means that we work within a system adopted by a society that values raw-milk cheeses. EU regulations on raw-milk cheeses are science-driven, striking a balance between protecting public health and the food production practices that give the very best flavour. Far from obstructing progress and innovation, sensible EU regulations have paved the way for the British raw-milk cheese industry to grow and thrive in recent decades. |
| Cheese shares many of the problems faced by the rest of the agricultural sector when it comes to labour: finding careful, skilled people to milk animals is already extremely difficult. According to a recent survey by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, 56% of British dairy farms employ workers from the EU. Restricting movement of labour will herald the widespread adoption of milking robots: fine for producing commodity liquid milk, but antithetical to making the very best quality cheese. | Cheese shares many of the problems faced by the rest of the agricultural sector when it comes to labour: finding careful, skilled people to milk animals is already extremely difficult. According to a recent survey by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, 56% of British dairy farms employ workers from the EU. Restricting movement of labour will herald the widespread adoption of milking robots: fine for producing commodity liquid milk, but antithetical to making the very best quality cheese. |
| But the question of access to expertise is even more profound. In the late 19th century, the UK had a technical network supporting farmhouse cheese to rival France’s, with dairy research centres, networks of scientists, and thriving dairy schools. Their work was at the cutting edge of contemporary scientific understanding. But as people stopped making farmhouse cheese, this technical network disappeared as well. | But the question of access to expertise is even more profound. In the late 19th century, the UK had a technical network supporting farmhouse cheese to rival France’s, with dairy research centres, networks of scientists, and thriving dairy schools. Their work was at the cutting edge of contemporary scientific understanding. But as people stopped making farmhouse cheese, this technical network disappeared as well. |
| The European farmhouse cheese industry was never decimated as it was in the UK, and its networks survived and flourished. Today, French microbiologists are busy studying the safety benefits of biofilms on wooden cheese-making tools and the best ways to milk cows to promote the presence of useful and beneficial bacteria for cheese, while ruminant nutritionists are showing how field-level biodiversity impacts cheese flavour, and how to promote it through low-impact farming systems. | The European farmhouse cheese industry was never decimated as it was in the UK, and its networks survived and flourished. Today, French microbiologists are busy studying the safety benefits of biofilms on wooden cheese-making tools and the best ways to milk cows to promote the presence of useful and beneficial bacteria for cheese, while ruminant nutritionists are showing how field-level biodiversity impacts cheese flavour, and how to promote it through low-impact farming systems. |
| This research holds the key to making British farmhouse cheese better and safer, as well; we depend on it for our future innovation and success. The British industry is working closely with these communities and networks. We rely heavily on our ability to hire experts, and on the EU research funding that makes their work possible. | This research holds the key to making British farmhouse cheese better and safer, as well; we depend on it for our future innovation and success. The British industry is working closely with these communities and networks. We rely heavily on our ability to hire experts, and on the EU research funding that makes their work possible. |
| If Michael Gove were serious about supporting the British farmhouse cheese industry, he would recognise that our membership of the EU has paved the way for, and continues to play an essential role in, our success. All we need is market access, the freedom to follow rational rules, and the opportunity to share and build our knowledge together. A soft Brie-xit perhaps? | If Michael Gove were serious about supporting the British farmhouse cheese industry, he would recognise that our membership of the EU has paved the way for, and continues to play an essential role in, our success. All we need is market access, the freedom to follow rational rules, and the opportunity to share and build our knowledge together. A soft Brie-xit perhaps? |
| • Bronwen Percival is the cheese buyer for Neal’s Yard Dairy and co-author of Reinventing the Wheel: Milk, Microbes, and the Fight for Real Cheese | • Bronwen Percival is the cheese buyer for Neal’s Yard Dairy and co-author of Reinventing the Wheel: Milk, Microbes, and the Fight for Real Cheese |
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